Transit police have issued 30 tickets and towed seven cars in an effort to keep Woodward Avenue clear for the QLINE since the Detroit streetcar line launched in May.

The news comes in a report that is being released today by M-1 Rail, the organization responsible for the QLINE, on actions taken to improve service ahead of the start in September of fare collections. The Kresge Foundation, which is one of the major financial supporters of the system, agreed in June to cover rider fares through Labor Day in the midst of complaints about wait times and other issues.

M-1 Rail Chief Executive Officer Matt Cullen said the system should be well-positioned to start collecting fares, which will be $1.50 for three hours.

"Over the past month, we’ve increased QLINE service, putting more streetcars on the road, reducing wait times between vehicles and integrated rider feedback into our operational improvement plan,” Cullen said. “The extended free ride period has enabled many more people to experience the QLINE for the first time and helped Detroiters integrate the streetcar system into their daily travel.”

M-1 Rail said ridership hit an average of 6,300 trips the week of July 17, which is an increase from 4,000 the week of June 12. It's unclear whether that number will hold once revenue is collected, but if so, if would beat the 3,000 to 5,000 riders per day predicted previously.

Here are some of the improvements to date, according to M-1 Rail:

Transdev North America, which runs the service, has hired 21 streetcar operators since service launched and plans to hire six more before revenue collection starts.

Traffic signal timing has been improved for the QLINE at the intersections of Burroughs, Montcalm, Campus Martius and Congress, and discussions are in the works for other intersections.

Five streetcars now operate 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The system has six streetcars, but officials had previously said three to four streetcars would be operating with the possibility of additional vehicles when needed.

The average time between streetcars has improved to 16 minutes, 49 seconds from more than 19 minutes Monday through Saturday since the week of June 12.

Despite the improvements, there have been a few issues, however. Message boards on streetcars have been out of service on a number of occasions for instance, and a streetcar, which has since returned to service, was struck by a vehicle on Monday in a non-injury crash.

The streetcar line opened to much fanfare in May along a 3.3-mile route on Woodward Avenue, connecting the Detroit's downtown, Midtown, New Center and North End areas.